


Get your needle and thread ('cause I'm coming apart at the seams)

by Bohemian (Linguam)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: #SaveShadowhunters, Anxiety, Fluff, Good Boyfriend Alec Lightwood, Hugs, I'm crying over the fact that that's a legit tag <3, M/M, Magnus Bane Needs A Hug, Stressed Magnus Bane, Supportive Alec Lightwood, and he gets one, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 08:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15190400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguam/pseuds/Bohemian
Summary: “Lie on me.”Although he can’t see it, Magnus can easily picture Alec blink in confusion from the hallway as the front door clicks shut behind him.“What?”





	Get your needle and thread ('cause I'm coming apart at the seams)

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have no idea what this is supposed to be (aside from completely random and severely under worked in terms of background and context) but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> Also, can I just take a moment to say how awed I am by the passion and determination of this fandom, and how happy I am to be a part of it? I mean, a billboard in Times Square? A friggin' PLANE? Seriously, you guys ROCK! <3

“Lie on me.”

Although he can’t see it, Magnus can easily picture Alec blink in confusion from the hallway as the front door clicks shut behind him.

“What?”

“Lie on me,” Magnus repeats from where he’s sprawled on the couch. He keeps his voice deliberately even—although he suspects he sounds as tightly strung as he feels. His spine is tense as a board against the soft cushions, every single muscle in his body seized by an inexplicable urgency: to move, to run, to pace, to tap his fingers against any available surface. It’s a feeling so intense that all he can do is lie there, whole system shocked into paralysis.

He listens to the sounds of Alec putting down his bow and quiver, divesting himself of his jacket, kicking off his shoes. When socked feet approach, Magnus opens closed eyes and is confronted by the inquisitive and slightly concerned face of his boyfriend.

“Rough day?” Alec asks, head tilted and brow furrowed as sharp hazels travel the length of Magnus’ body, presumably in search of any visible reason for the tension keeping Magnus’ body and mind hostage.

Unfortunately, this particular enemy doesn’t have a concrete, physical form.

Magnus nods—although the only thing he’s done is spend the entire day feeling like he was slowly coming apart, one itching, vibrating molecule at a time. He lifts a hand and beckons Alec closer, and Alec frowns harder at the lack of a verbal response. But he does close the gap between them, easing himself down on top of Magnus, hazel eyes searching. Magnus reaches out and pulls him all the way down so that their bodies connect fully, until he is completely surrounded by Alec’s weight, Alec’s warmth, Alec’s scent.

For the first time today, the air inflating his lungs doesn’t feel like electricity.

Magnus can feel Alec’s confusion seeping into him through every patch of connected skin, but the Shadowhunter doesn’t say anything, only weasels his arms in-between Magnus’ back and the couch, squeezing them even closer together. The added pressure punctures some of the tension and Magnus breathes a sigh of relief.

“What do you need?” Alec asks quietly, warm breath tickling Magnus’ neck.

“Just this.” Magnus swallows. “To be _still_ for a moment.”

It doesn’t really make sense, even to his own ears, but Alec nods as if it’s all perfectly reasonable.

“Take as long as you need.” His lips brush against Magnus’ temple. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The spoken reassurance is even more grounding than the physical contact and Magnus’ eyes fall shut on their own accord. For a moment, he allows himself to just _be_. Centuries of dealing with life’s many curveballs has taught him a thing or two, one of which is to listen to what your body and mind are telling you and press pause every once in a while. Walk away, take a breath, and return to the task at hand when a full mental breakdown is no longer an imminent reality.

Granted, the theoretical aspect of that particular life wisdom is much more familiar to him than the practical, but whoever said immortals were infallible?

Magnus doesn’t know how long they stay there on the couch, legs intertwined and bodies pressed together, waves of calm pulsing through him with every synchronized heartbeat and reducing the agitation inch by incremental inch. But he can feel Alec’s puzzlement bleed into worry the longer the silence stretches, and this will all be pointless if, in the end, all it accomplishes is transferring his anxiety onto his boyfriend.

Magnus slowly turns his head and nuzzles into Alec’s hair, planting a gentle kiss at the skin behind his ear. He smells of sandalwood and leather, and the metal wire constricting Magnus’ chest loosens even more.

Alec takes the gesture as the permission it is and raises his head. Whatever brief sense of alarm that may have flared at the sudden appearance of air between them immediately dies down as Alec fixes him with those piercing, attentive hazels.

“Are you okay now?”

Magnus nods, and smiles as he realizes that the words are actually true.

“I am. Thank you, Alexander.”

“I’m not exactly sure what I did,” Alec says, lips twitching in response to Magnus’ smile. “But I’m glad it helped.”

His expression turns serious.

“Want to talk about it?”

He’s watching Magnus with that patent intensity of his, like he’s trying to look into the darkest depths of Magnus’ soul, simultaneously wanting to heal every hurt caused by centuries of living and trying to figure out if he’ll need to go hunt some poor bastard down for the state Magnus is in. It’s been a long time since someone looked at him like that, like he’s precious and someone worth protecting, and Magnus can’t help but smile as a warm wave of affection rushes through him.

“There really isn’t that much to talk about,” he says honestly. “It’s been a hectic couple of days and my mind was overexerting itself trying to be everywhere and solve every problem at once. I think I just needed to be anchored in the here and now.” His fingers gently brush at Alec’s bangs as he adds softly, “To be reminded of where I was.”

Magnus is old enough to know that this is something he will likely need to be reminded of again. People are always “in the making,” and life—even the life of an immortal—is nothing but a repeat cycle of many trials and almost equally as many errors. Frustrating as it is, that’s just part of being human.

Alec tilts his head, kisses Magnus’ fingertips.

“I’ll be your anchor whenever you need one,” he says, and Magnus doesn’t let the full force of yet another one of Alec’s bold but oh-so-sincere statements sink in before he leans up and captures Alec’s lips in a slow, tender kiss.

Moments later, the air is thick with renewed tension, and there is an insistent buzzing somewhere behind his breastbone—but this type of coming apart is one that Magnus welcomes with open arms.


End file.
